Page 50 - Phonebox Magazine April 2016

Park Life
It’s officially Spring, which means taking to the great outdoors and enjoying the weather. We are positively spoilt around here
with some beautiful parkland to get active and healthy in. And of course, if you’ve worked up an appetite with a brisk walk or cycle, then what better reward than coffee and cake! Here is a round up of some of the parks within reach of a good bike ride from here. Rumour has it, you can also reach them by car!
Emberton Park Café
Run by AE Catering who run four others (Cambridge, Stamford, Cannock Chase and Ashby de la Zouch). I’ve visited twice and sampled a lemon polenta cake and a pistachio loaf. Both delicious and both serious portions. They don’t do a flat white (my coffee of choice) and at the moment coffee is served in takeaway cups. But the coffee is good. Nice stylish décor and plenty of space. A great addition to Emberton Park, we’ll be regulars.
Teazels, Harrold
Superb views over the lake, plenty of outdoor seating, waitress service, fabulous coffee, and a superb breakfast sandwich (we’ve tried both the bacon and the egg). The full English is very tasty too. The coffee is good; the tea comes in a pot. What’s not to like – ah, it does, of course, get very busy in Summer, but you can’t really blame them for that.
The Kiosk, Bedford Park
This, for so much of my school days was a derelict building. So lovely to see it renovated. Beautifully styled inside, with plenty of seating. The breakfast menu is imaginative, with porridge, pancakes, smashed avocado on toast, or huevos rancheros sitting alongside the obligatory full English and breakfast sandwiches. The poached eggs on
Emberton Park - Superb Cakes
toast were perfection, beautifully runny and on good quality bread. I’ve tried the cakes too, which were excellent. Nice mellow coffee. Sunday roasts (untried) at the weekend.
Salcey Forest Café
Hmm, not my favourite. I started by having to queue quite sometime to get served, then finally got an average cup of tea and a poor bacon sandwich. Not a huge range of cakes and treats either. That said, the stews and soups that I saw a few people eating looked and smelt superb. They do a hot roast sandwich at the weekend which may have been a better choice. Lots of space, rustic style. And Salcey Forest is a delight – beautiful woodland, big enough to get a proper walk in with hardly another person in sight.
The Pump House, Sywell
I didn’t try them – but they have a range of pizza topped paninis – which on a cold spring day has to be a good thing surely. This is the smallest of the cafes visited, with just four tables inside. It wasn’t busy when I arrived, so service was good. I had an excellent sticky toffee cake and a ghastly flat white (which was in reality a very large mug of overly milky coffee). More seating outside, and a lovely walk around the reservoir.
Quarryman’s Rest Café, Irchester Country Park
This is a café and takeaway combo. Takeaway van selling burgers, pasties, ice-cream etc. The large café next door has a tiny counter area just as you walk in, with a tinier selection of cakes – a little disappointing. It’s supposed to be waitress service but wasn’t. However the coffee hit the spot – a proper flat white, and the scone was first rate. Nice outdoor area too.
Teazels - Best All Rounder
The Kiosk - Imaginative Menu and Great Coffee
Salcey Forest - Loveliest Location
The Pump House - Sticky Toffee Cake
Quarryman’s Rest - Good Coffee
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50 Phonebox Magazine | April 2016
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